Fort Bliss "Chaplain with the dog"

'Chaplain with the Dog' breaks down barriers at Fort Bliss, Afghanistan
El Paso Times
By David Burge
POSTED: 07/06/2014

Army Chaplain (Maj.) Karen Hallett feeds Sgt. Zoe, a black Labrador retriever therapy dog, a treat Wednesday in her office. (VICTOR CALZADA-EL PASO TIMES )

Chaplain Maj. Karen Hallett has a sidekick she is seen almost everywhere with — her dog, Sgt. Zoe, a psychiatric service dog who is trained to help people dealing with post traumatic stress.

Hallett, 49, from Vernon, N.J., has had Sgt. Zoe since February 2012 and uses her as a way to break down barriers and provide additional support to the soldiers in her unit and around the Army.

Her dog can often be seen laying in the doorway of her office at West Fort Bliss, beckoning visitors.

"Here is how it works," Hallett said. "Someone comes by. Zoe is laying out in the hallway. She's cute. They stop. They pet her. I have a chance to say, 'Hey, how are you doing? What's going on?' Very often, they will come in and sit down and talk about whatever. It opens a door that wouldn't be open to me normally.

"I almost can't get work done in my office, which is what we want as a chaplain," she said. "We want people to stop by."

Hallett, a nondenominational Christian chaplain, has been the brigade chaplain for 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, First Army, Division West at Fort Bliss since April 2013.

Before that, she served as the brigade chaplain for the 411th Engineer Brigade, a reserve unit out of New York state. While with the 411th, she deployed to Afghanistan in 2012-13 and brought the dog with her.
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